13909 Smoketown Road, Woodbridge VA

Today, it was such a joy to join Church #154 online at Christ Chapel Church, and what a blessing it was to be part of such a meaningful service from home.

One of the sweetest moments was getting to witness the church celebrate Sister Nelly’s 98th birthday. What a beautiful story of God’s faithfulness across a lifetime. To see a church pause and honor that kind of life, that kind of longevity, that kind of grace, was incredibly special. It reminded me that every year, every season, every valley, and every victory truly is held in the hands of God.

This message was part of the series “Reflections,” and Pastor Joe Garcia delivered a powerful word that gave me reminders of so many things my heart desperately needed to hear. It was the kind of sermon that does not just stay in your mind, but settles down into your spirit and keeps speaking long after the service ends.

We are living in a time of tension, brokenness, and deep human need. In many ways, it is not so different from the days when Jesus walked this earth. People were weary. They were burdened. They were desperate for hope. And still, in the middle of all of that, Jesus spoke with both honesty and hope. He never pretended that pain was not real. He never minimized suffering. He never denied that this world would bring trouble. But He also never let darkness have the final word.

That matters so much to me.

Because when you have endured real pain, real sorrow, real heartbreak, you do not need empty words. You need something sturdy. You need something eternal. You need Someone who has already overcome. And that is exactly what Jesus gives us. Our hope is not built on circumstances calming down. Our hope is built on the finished work of the cross and the power of the resurrection. Jesus conquered sin, death, hell, and every opposing power, and because of that, we can take heart even in the middle of a hard life.

As we move toward Easter, I think there is such a tender invitation for us. We are called to look at our lives through the lens of the cross. We are called to remember that no matter how dark it gets, darkness never wins in the end. True hope is found in the person of Jesus Christ. Not in our own strength. In Jesus. And through the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to stand firm, to live with peace, and to become carriers of hope for other people, too.

One thing Pastor Joe said that stayed with me was this: worship begins in our heart. That was so powerful to me. He said if the piano breaks down, if the guitar is not working, we can still sing because worship is not dependent on an instrument. Worship is born from what is in our hearts. I love that. I really do. Because sometimes people think worship is the music, but worship is so much deeper than that. Worship is surrender. Worship is remembrance. Worship is the heart bowing down before God, even when life is painful, even when tears are falling, even when you do not have the words.

There have been many seasons in my life where all I had was a broken heart and the name of Jesus. Seasons where the song in me felt weak, but somewhere deep down, my soul was still crying out to God. That is worship too. Sometimes the purest worship does not sound like we think it will. Sometimes it sounds like a whisper. Sometimes it sounds like sobbing on the floor. Sometimes it sounds like, “Lord, I am still here.” And I believe God receives that worship with tenderness.

I also loved how Pastor Joe spoke about other cultures and how Jesus still speaks to all of us in a way only He can. Jesus reaches across every background, every wound, every language, every story, and He still speaks directly to the human heart. That is one of the most beautiful things about Him. He knows exactly how to reach each of us.

The way Pastor Joe spoke of Moses also really stayed with me. He called it forty years of training, and I loved that because I had never really thought of it in quite that way before. Moses spent forty years in Pharaoh’s house, then forty years in the wilderness, and then God used him in mighty ways. What looked like a delay was not wasted. What looked like hiddenness was preparation. What looked like silence was shaping.

That preached to me.

Because I think many of us look at the long roads in our lives and wonder where God was. We look at the years of pain, the years of confusion, the years where it seemed like nothing was blooming, and we think maybe all of that was lost time. But God wastes nothing. He knows how to use wilderness seasons. He knows how to use hidden years. He knows how to use every tear, every ache, every lonely place, and somehow turn it into preparation for what He will do next.

The message about Paul touched me, too. Pastor Joe spoke of how Paul was transformed, how God has to humble us on the road to Damascus. That hit me hard. Because it is true. Before there can be an overflowing, there must first be an emptying. Before God fills us, He often has to strip away the pride, the illusion of control, the self-sufficiency, the bitterness, the hard places in us that keep us from fully surrendering.

That is mercy.

Luke 9:23 says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” That is the real call of Jesus. Deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow Me. That means surrendering pride. Surrendering unforgiveness. Surrendering the version of ourselves that wants to stay in charge. And I think that is one of the hardest parts of faith, because we all want resurrection, but few of us want the dying first.

But there must be an emptying before there can be an overflowing.

Joel 2:12-13 says, “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Those words, even now, reached deep into me. Because they tell us that no matter how far we have drifted, no matter how prideful we have become, no matter how bitter, numb, broken, or weary we are, the invitation of God is still open. Even now. In spite of your mistakes. In spite of your failures. In spite of your wandering. Turn to Him.

For those of us who have endured deep suffering in life, when you have lived through things that shattered you, it can be easy to believe that brokenness is all you have. That your suffering has ruined too much. That too many locusts have already come through and stripped your field.

But Joel reminds us that God says He can restore what the locusts have consumed.

That makes me emotional, because I know what it is to feel like spiritual locusts have stripped whole parts of your life bare. I know what it is to lose years. I know what it is to feel like the field has been ravaged. And yet here I am, still seeing God restore. Still watching Him breathe life into barren places. Still witnessing Him turn ashes into something that carries beauty again.

That does not mean the suffering was good. It was not.
But it does mean God is still God over it.

Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” I have clung to that in my own life, because I have needed to know that when a heart is crushed, God does not back away from it. He comes near. When life has wounded you deeply, He does not recoil. He draws close.

Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” What a word for weary people like me. What a word for people who feel like they have used up every ounce of strength they have. His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness.

My daughter and I had an hour of deep conversation this morning, with tears and thoughtful reflection, and I am so grateful for how the Holy Spirit works on us. Those conversations, those tears, those pauses where God starts uncovering what is really in us. That is where healing deepens. That is where walls begin to come down.

What do we all need to turn around from today?
What still needs to be surrendered?
Where has bitterness settled in?
Has our heart grown hard?
Those are not easy questions, but they are needed ones.

Because repentance is not punishment. Repentance is invitation. It is God saying, come back to Me. It is the mercy of God calling us out of the places that are killing us and into the places where healing can begin. It is God saying, make peace with Jesus. Be humble. Come to Him. If your heart is broken, come. If your spirit is weary, come. If your field has been stripped bare, come. If you have made mistakes, come.

Today is your even now moment!!!

I do not believe anybody is too far gone for the mercy of God. I do not believe the story is over just because the suffering was long. I do not believe devastation gets the final word. I believe Jesus still restores. I believe He still meets broken people with compassion and not contempt. And I believe that some of the most beautiful things God creates are born out of places that once looked irredeemable.

Thank you to Christ Chapel Church for such a meaningful online service and for the powerful message shared today. I am grateful for the worship, for the Word, and for the reminder that God is still inviting us to return to Him with all our hearts. It was a blessing to join in, and I am thankful for the ways this service stirred reflection, tears, honesty, and hope in both me and my daughter.

I cannot wait to see where the Holy Spirit leads next week.

No matter what you have endured, no matter how stripped your field may feel, no matter how weary your soul has become, Jesus is still saying, even now. Even now, return. Even now, surrender. Even now, be healed. Even now, be restored. Even now, let Him love you.

So if your heart is broken, come.
If you have been humbled by life, come.
If you need to turn around, come.
If you need peace, come.
If you need mercy, come.

Come to Jesus.

He is near to the brokenhearted.
He is faithful every morning.
He restores what was consumed.
And He can still make something beautiful out of what hurt you most.

Love you all dearly,

Annie Stewart Lambert